Martial Arts Across the Heavens: Becoming a Martial God Starting from the Big Boss in Tangshan

Everything that has happened during this period has been very strange.

Whenever Baozhilin encountered a problem, Chen Wen would give him a special talk and even drag him along to face Admiral Fucha.

Let him see the incompetence and corruption of the imperial court.

Previously, Huang Feihong was so preoccupied with grief and indignation that he failed to notice these things.

But now, he suddenly realized that Chen Wen had already used that method on him!

Put him in a desperate situation! Force him to stand up!

Faced with Huang Feihong's questioning, Chen Wen showed no panic; instead, he smiled.

"Did I burn down Po Chi Lam?"

"Am I to eliminate the militia?"

"Or am I using some kind of trick to harm you?"

"Brother Huang, I admit I know some things, but I'm not the one who's really pushing you, and I already warned you long ago. It's just that you're unwilling to accept reality."

"Now, I'm offering you another option."

Huang Feihong understood, of course, that Chen Wen was telling the truth.

The other party had warned him that the Shahe Gang would retaliate and that the imperial court could not be trusted.

He just kept hoping for the best, just like the people Chen Wen mentioned.

As long as there is even a sliver of hope for survival, one will resign oneself to fate and live on by self-hypnosis.

Did Wong Fei-hung not know how wicked the Shahe Gang were?

Or was he unaware of the court's incompetence and corruption?

No! He knows everything!

He followed Liu Yongfu in the uprising and knew these things all too well.

But clinging to a sliver of hope, they thought that this would allow them to survive.

Chen Wen simply wanted to let him know that this was wrong!

Endure it, or you won't survive?

"Do you have to stand up to live?"

Wong Fei-hung clenched his fist instinctively and looked at Chen Wen again, "Can you get everyone up?"

Chen Wen shook his head, a strange expression suddenly appearing on his face.

"It wasn't me."

"I only know where to go, but I don't actually know how to get there."

"Pretending to know what you don't know can cause even greater harm, so I haven't presumptuously taught you too much."

"But don't worry, although there are no gods or saviors in this world, there will be a group of people who will lead everyone to stand up."

"Although it will be very difficult and you will encounter many setbacks, there will be people who force you to kneel down again, and there will also be spineless people who kneel down on their own."

"But as long as everyone knows they can stand up and live, that's enough."

Wong Fei-hung listened, somewhat lost in thought:

"Will that day really... come?"

"Yes." Chen Wen nodded vigorously, his eyes bright. "And it won't be too far away."

He stepped forward, extended his hand, and his expression was unusually solemn:

"Now, Brother Huang, I need your answer."

Are you willing to stand up yourself? And help more people stand up?

The clinic was quiet for a moment.

Huang Feihong looked at Chen Wen's outstretched hand.

Images flashed through my mind: the ruins of Po Chi Lam, the burnt-out folding fan, the admiral's greedy face, the foreigner's arrogant false accusations, and the evasive eyes of the neighbors...

And the Black Flag Army brothers who diligently practice martial arts.

Finally, the fire reignited in his eyes.

He took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and reached out to hold Chen Wen's hand tightly.

"I do!"

A genuine smile bloomed on Chen Wen's face as he vigorously shook their clasped hands:

"Brother Huang, I've been waiting for you to say that for a long time!"

"Alright, enough of the small talk. Now it's time to make those who bullied us pay the price!"

Huang Feihong's spirits lifted:

"What do you plan to do? The Black Flag Army only has about a hundred men left. It can't form a large army, and it can't rebel."

"One hundred people is enough." A cold glint flashed in Chen Wen's eyes.

"When Lord Liu Yongfu started his uprising, he only had two hundred soldiers."

"Besides, we certainly won't openly rebel now. You should prepare yourself and go to the yamen to see that admiral."

Huang Feihong wondered:

"The written contract for the factory?"

Chen Wen looked at him as if he were an idiot:

"How could that be? We won't give him a single hair."

"Go tell him that I was kidnapped by those two foreign captains and taken to their merchant ship."

Huang Feihong was taken aback at first, then realized what was happening:

"You're thinking of... using one tiger to devour another? But that admiral is so spineless, would he dare to turn against the foreigners for your sake?"

"Of course he wouldn't dare," Chen Wen laughed.

"But we can let him dare!"

"Time waits for no one. Get yourself ready and rest. Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night!"

……

When Admiral Fucha returned to his office, he promptly and decisively issued the arrest warrant.

He ordered his constables to search the entire city for members of the Shahe Gang, and specifically requested the capture of their leader, Qiu Ba.

The commotion was quite significant, with images and pictures plastered all over the streets and alleys.

This caused great trouble for the Shahe Gang.

Like frightened mice, they hid here and there, not daring to return to their original hideouts.

Inside a dilapidated side hall of a City God Temple.

Qiu Ba slammed his fist hard on the dusty offering table, making the broken bowls bounce around.

"None of these corrupt officials are trustworthy!"

Qiu Ba gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

"They're the ones who made us act like dogs to bite others, and now they're trying to win over that guy surnamed Huang, only to turn around and bite us!"

"Crossing the river and then dismantling the bridge, using the millstone and then discarding the donkey! That's utterly shameless!"

Several of his trusted underlings beside him also looked dejected and sighed.

"Boss, hiding like this isn't a solution... The government has a lot of eyes and ears; we'll get caught sooner or later."

"Exactly. Last time we got someone out, the money we gave them almost emptied our savings. If they get arrested again this time... we'll probably have to go bankrupt just to satisfy those corrupt officials' appetites."

"I've wasted all my money, and I can't even get a kind word in return!"

Qiu Ba was even more furious as he listened to his subordinates' complaints.

He spat out a mouthful of saliva and said fiercely:

"Giving money to these ungrateful wretches? I'd rather throw it down the drain! We'll find another way to earn that money!"

"A different approach?" one of the henchmen asked, his face contorted with despair. "Boss, we're like rats in the street right now, everyone's trying to hide. How are we supposed to make money?"

Qiu Ba glanced around at his men and smiled sinisterly:

"Tell me, in this area, who's the most powerful person now? Whose words carry the most weight?"

Someone hesitated and asked, "The government office...?"

Someone immediately retorted, "What kind of government office is this! They're arresting us right now!"

Some people say, "If we're talking about fighting skills, then it has to be Wong Fei-hung, he's number one in Foshan."

Qiu Ba shook his head.

At this moment, a quick-witted, skinny man's eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice:

"Boss, you mean... a foreigner?"

"That's right!" Qiu Ba slapped his thigh, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.

"Foreigners! With their guns and cannons, even the imperial court is like a grandson in their presence! Who dares to mess with them?"

"I'd heard it all along; those foreign ships recruit people to 'make a fortune' overseas, but really they're just taking people as slaves!"

"But they're too slow. When it comes to catching people, you have to rely on us brothers!"

"If we go and work for them, we'll be the foreigners' subordinates! Our status will immediately change!"

"With foreigners as our backers, would the imperial court dare to lay a finger on us?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his men's eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect.

Yes, doing things for foreigners is like having a get-out-of-jail-free card.

They might even be able to borrow the tiger's power and become even more powerful than before!

"The leader is wise!"

"Follow the foreigners! You'll live a life of luxury!"

"Let's go! Let's go to the docks and find that foreign old man!"

A group of desperate fugitives, as if grasping at a straw, stealthily made their way toward the area where foreign merchant ships were gathered at the dock.